Red Hook Road: Book summary and reviews of Red Hook Road by Ayelet Waldman

Red Hook Road Summary

Set on the coast of Maine over the course of four summers, Red Hook Road tells the story of two families, the Tetherlys and the Copakens, and of the ways in which their lives are unraveled and stitched together by misfortune, by good intentions and failure, and by love and calamity.

A marriage collapses under the strain of a daughter’s death; two bereaved siblings find comfort in one another; and an adopted young girl breathes new life into her family with her prodigious talent for the violin. As she writes with obvious affection for these unforgettable characters, Ayelet Waldman skillfully interweaves life’s finer pleasures—music and literature—with the more mundane joys of living. Within these resonant pages, a vase filled with wildflowers or a cold beer on a hot summer day serve as constant reminders that it’s often the little things that make life so precious.

Red Hook Road Reviews

"Though Waldman is often guilty of overwriting, here the narrative is well crafted, and each of the characters comes fully to life." - Publishers Weekly

"Waldman has written a tale of two families forced together through love and tragedy. Fans of Waldman's work and readers who enjoy family sagas will find this book a pleasure." - Library Journal

"A thoroughly gripping and elegantly written story about love, grief, friendship, and the unexpected ways in which disaster brings families together. The novel is chockfull of revelations and insights on how people both unravel and manage to find grace under strain." - Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner

"This beautiful novel shows us how families cope with the most painful kinds of loss and reminds us that even as grief fractures, it can pave the way for unexpected grace." - Ann Packer, author of The Dive from Clausen’s Pier

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Ayelet Waldman Author Biography

Ayelet Waldman is the author several books, including Red Hook Road, Bad Mother, and Daughter's Keeper as well as seven Mommy-Track mystery novels. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, Believer, Child, Guardian, Vogue and Salon.com.

Waldman and her husband, the novelist Michael Chabon, live in Berkeley, California, with their four children.

From the author's website

Other books by Ayelet Waldman at BookBrowse